1. Field of the Invention
Systems and methods are provided to accept and settle transaction payments for unbanked consumers. The consumer initiates a transaction by placing a product in their on-line shopping cart, making a telephone purchase, making a mail order/fax order from a merchant's catalog or other print advertisement, paying a one-time or reoccurring bill, loading a stored value card, making mobile payments using a mobile phone, or depositing money in a bank account. The merchant transmits transaction information, which may include the consumer's name, address, phone number, email address, merchant name, merchant number and/or amount due to a central processing unit. The central processing unit may be maintained by an intermediate, third-party service provider. The transaction information may be transmitted electronically in real-time, near real-time or using batch processing via an initiating processing unit or the merchant may contact a representative with access to the central processing unit who may input the transaction information. The central processing unit may generate a unique transaction identifier or the merchant may generate the unique transaction identifier which complies with the systems rules. In the event the merchant generates the unique transaction identifier, the merchant may notify the central processing unit of the transaction information and unique transaction identifier. The system may provide the merchant and/or consumer the location(s) of payment processing unit(s), which can include a manned kiosk, an unmanned kiosk, a point-of-sale terminal, a walk-up location or any other location capable of accepting payments. The payment processing unit may be in communication with the central processing unit. At the payment processing unit, the consumer presents the unique transaction identifier and/or transaction information, which is transmitted to the central processing unit for verification. The consumer may then make payment at the payment processing unit. The payment information is transmitted from the payment processing unit to the central processing unit. Upon payment, a receipt may be generated and the central processing unit may notify the merchant of payment by the consumer. The merchant may then fulfill the transaction based on its normal practices. The system may then remit the collected funds to the merchant in real-time, near real-time or as a batch process.
2. Prior Art
Approximately twenty-two percent (22%) of the U.S. population is unbanked, which equates to approximately thirty to fifty million individuals. Another forty to forty-five million individuals have banking relationships, but are “underserved.” These unbanked or underserved individuals combine for approximately seventy to ninety-five million individuals, and these individuals represent an estimated $600 to $800 billion in annual buying power. These consumers are largely shut out of making phone and web purchases, online purchases, television shopping networks and catalog retailers who cannot easily accommodate cash transactions. While unbanked consumers typically use check cashing outlets, supermarkets, prepaid top-up, money transfer, walk-in bill payment, etc. to conduct their “financial” services, most merchants do not have a process in place to accommodate them at the locations they typically frequent for cash management activities. Merchants looking to serve this market today lose impulse purchases or have to invest in unwieldy expensive processes.
Further, large populations of consumers today do not have a credit card or bank account, and therefore, lack a mechanism to pay for a wide variety of products and services, including web and phone purchases. Other consumers may be reluctant or unwilling to use their credit cards or bank accounts to pay for web and phone transactions for fear of identity theft, no credit card, maxed out credit limit or other reasons. Thus, there exists a need for a system and method which enables consumers to pay for these types of transactions, along with one-time and reoccurring bills, with the added ability to reload stored value cards or make banking deposits, conveniently with cash at local retail locations.
Typically stored value cards can be grouped into one of the four following broad categories: 1) closed system; 2) semi-closed system; 3) semi-open system; and 4) open system. Closed system cards are prepaid cards that can be used only for the purchase of goods or services from a single merchant. They often are purchased directly from a merchant and are sold in fixed denominations. Further, additional value cannot be added to closed system cards (i.e., they are not “reloadable”). Semi-closed system cards are similar to closed system cards, but rather than being redeemable at only a single merchant, semi-closed system cards can be used at multiple merchants. Semi-open system cards are accepted by any merchant who accepts debit cards and/or credit cards operating on a corresponding card network. They, however, do not allow cardholders to obtain cash from automated teller machines (ATMs), but these cards are often reloadable. Finally, open system cards are broadly the same as semi-open system cards with the added benefit of ATM functionality.